In construction of buildings, particularly light commercial buildings, the traditional fabrication process is to lay a foundation. A frame is then built upon the foundation and interior and exterior walls hung from the frame. Modern residential construction follows this similar format. Over time, it is not uncommon for the foundations of light commercial buildings and residential structures to settle due to continual compaction and subsidence of the ground on which the building has been constructed. Since the exterior walls are rigidly connected to the frame, as the foundation settles and moves in a downward direction, it pulls the exterior walls along with it. This can lead to a variety of problems. If the exterior walls overhang the foundation then if the walls contact the earth they may be pushed away from the frame by the weight of gravity pulling on the foundation and thus transferring the weight of the structure to the external walls. Also, if the external walls end up supporting the building then the foundation is not allowed to settle in its natural way which can lead to differential stresses on the foundation and eventually cracking.
If the exterior walls and frame of the structure are manufactured from materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion, as is often the case, changes in temperature may produce differential thermal expansion or contraction between the frame and the outer walls which can result in damage to the structure. For example, where a building having a metal frame with a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion is provided with exterior walls having a relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion, in the winter months when the interior of the building is heated to approximately 75 degrees and the external temperature drops to subzero temperatures, a situation of high thermal stress between the building frame and the exterior walls occurs. In this case, the result might be that the panels of the exterior walls are pulled apart and gaps form in the exterior panels of the building due to the relative expansion of the frame with respect to the relative contraction of the outer panels. This will produce gaps in the panels allowing the cold air and moisture to intrude into the space between the internal and external walls, with concomitant problems associated therewith.
Traditional methods for attaching exterior walls of structures to the frame do not allow relative movement between the frame and the outer walls, and therefore the problems discussed above continue to occur. Therefore, what is needed in the industry is a method for allowing the frame of a building to move freely with respect to the outer walls of the building yet still provide support for the outer walls. Due to the low profit margins in the building industry, the solution to the problem must be economical and not provide great additional cost for building the structure.